Scanning microscope



Oct. 5, A1943. J. HILLIER SCANNING MICROSCOPE Fild- May 29. 1942 Patented Oct. 5, 1943 soANNlNG MIcRosoorE dames Hillier, Collingswood, N. J., assgnorto Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of f 4. ,Delaware AppliationMayfzo, 1942, serial No. 4 45,009

4 Claims.

'This invention relates to, electron microscopes of thejtype 'wherein` `thespecimen or vobject 'to be examined 'is explored or scanned by moving the specimen holder in the Apath of anundeviatingelectron beam, and 'has for its principal object 'the provision of improved -means for imparting fthe requisite line and frame scanning movemer'rts to thespeimen holder;

`A''il'i`ep-rio r artas to electron microscopes of the scanning gtype'jis 4well exemplified injcopending application^Seri921iNo.`3,91;188, filed April 30, 1941, byRichardLSnyder, Jr., and assigned to the same assignee` Aas fthe instant application. IIn Snyders-disclosure 'two dynanricetype'loudspeaker motors are employedf'or imparting the requisite Y anism wvliichifdispensesiwiththe `auxiliary ampliiaersiphototubes and lamps of the :prior zart.

Another :and related .obj ect .of lthe present invention is to provide an improyedscanning )mechcharacterizedbyitsabsenceof back-lash and one which is substantially immune to .shocks and'immors of `external origin.

The foregoing and other objects are achieved in accordance with the invention by the provision of a push-pull hydraulic system incorporating means for converting a motion of relatively large displacement into a motion of extremely small displacement. Certain preferred details of construction together with other objects and advantages will be apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following specication and to the accompanying drawing; wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational View of an embodiment of thehydraulic system' of the invention, for imparting relatively minute line and frame scanning movements to `the object holder of an electron microscope;

Figure 2 is a graph showing the relative direction of the line and frame scanning movements imparted to the object holder and,

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the' microscope of Fig. 1 showing a portion of the hydraulic drive system.

jIn the accompanying drawing, I designates the cylindrical side wall and 3 an end wall of an evacuable microscope chamber 5 which, in the instant casehasa long vertical axis and contains an apertured .electron lens system TI kthrough whichlelectrons from an electron gun Bor other source, pass upwardly in an undeviating beam to Limpinge the lower end 9a of a rod-likefelement 9 upon which the objector specimen to be examined is mounted.` Asshownin Fig. 1, thecentral portionof the ,end wall of the chamber 5 comprises a thin metal diaphragm II which serves as a flexible support for the rod-'like specimen holder19. s

Asindicated in Fig. '2 the scanning movement necessary to a complete examination of every part of the specimen is provided by moving the specimenh'clder I vto and fro across the path of the beam, as shownby the double ended arrow while at 'the same time moving the said holder comparativelyy slowly iny the frame scanning" or transverse direction indicated by the `arrow y.

In accordance with thevpresent invention, two hydraulically actuated eXpansible-contractible members Awhich may comprise pistons, or metal bellows I3 and I5 mounted on opposite sides of the rod '9 .and connected thereto through a suitable mechanical `coupling IFI, serve to impart-the previously described reciprocating or line scan'- ning movement to theV said object holder 9. As more clearly shown in Fig. 3, this Vmechanical coupling may Acomprise simply a rod like lmember :I'f'lwhich is fixed at its opposite .ends to -the bellows I3 and I5, respectively, and having an enlarged central portion I'Ia to which the outer end oi' the specimen holder 9 is attached as by means of a nut I'Ib. The bellows I3 and I5 are mounted upon a tiltable frame I9 which is supported upon pivots 2l which rest upon a base 23 on the outer surface of the end wall 3 of the chamber 5. Two inwardly inclined pistons or bellows 25 and 21 mounted on the base 23 contact the underside of the frame 23 upon which the bellows I3 and I5 are mounted and serve to apply the frame scanning movement to the object holder 9 by tilting the frame 23 upon its pivots 2l during the line scanning movement.

The bellows I3 and I5 which impart the line scanning movement to the object holder 9 are connected, as shown in Fig. 1, by conduits 29 and 3|, respectively, to smaller pistons or bellows 33 and 35 which are actuated by a common cam follower 3l which is biased as by a spring 39 to bear against the periphery of a rotating spiral cam 4I. Similarly, the bellows 25 and 2l which supply the frame scanning movement are connected by conduits 43 and 45, respectively, to small pistons or bellows 41 and 49'which are actuated by a common cam follower 5I which is biased by a spring 53 to bear against a cam 55. Each conduit may include a reservoir R which may be provided with a screw controlled plunger P for regulating the pressure of the fluid therein.

It will be observed upon inspection of Fig. 1 that the driving bellows of each pair 33, 35 and 41, 49 and hence the bellows I3, I5 and 25, 21 which they actuate or drive are arranged in push-pull relation. This is to say the expanfrom the gradual removal of the compression force upon the driving bellows 33 which is` associated therewith. This push-pull arrangement contributes materially to the smoothness and accuracy of the line and frame scanning movements. Y j

Where, as described in the previously identified Snyder application, the electronic output of the microscope serves to actuate a conventional facsimile recorder (not shown) the cams 4I and 55 may be coupled directly to the line and frame scanning mechanism of the recorder and, in any event, will be understood to operate in synchronism with the particular registering device employed. If the recorder is of the conventional carbon paper type, for example (RCA type FAX-2A), the line scanning cam 4I will ordinarily be driven at the rate of seventy-iive r. p, m. and the frame scanning cam 55 at the rate of one revolution every ten minutes.

Since the details of the specimen or object to be explored by the beam are exceedingly small, the diameter of the electron beam must be correspondinglyfsmall (say (50 the wave length of light) if good resolution is to be obtained. To reproduce minute details in the nal picture great magnification and good resolution are necessary. Because the physical dimensions of the nal picture are necessarily limited by the dimensions of the recorder, the line and'frame scanning movements of theobject holder must be correspondingly limited. By wayof example, in one set-up wherein the final picture was 8" by 6" at a magnification of 15,000 diameters the displacement of the object holder in the line scanning direction was 0.00053" and in the frame scanning direction was 0.00040". In the illustrated embodiment of the invention such small movements are achieved in three stages: (1) by employing levers of the second class as cam followers, (2) byemploying smaller driving than driven pistons and (3) by employing a lever of the firstclass as the object holder. Y

Various modifications of the above described line and frame scanning mechanism will suggest t lthemselves to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains.

n prising means for forming an undeviating electrony beam, an object holder mounted for movement in the path ofsaidbeam, and hydraulic means for moving said object holder in theline and frame-scanning directions with respect to said beam. y I

A 2. A scanning type electron microscope comprising means for forming an undeviating electron beam, an object holder mounted for movement in the path of saidV beam, a tiltable base upon which said object holder is supported, hydraulic means on said base for imparting a reciprocatingv line-scanning movement to said object holder, and separate hydraulic means for tilting said base3whereby to impart a frame-c scanning movement to said object holder.

3. The invention as set forth'in claim 2 and wherein said separate hydraulic means for tilting said base comprises a pairfof pressure responsive f expansible-contractible members connected in push-pull driving relation and mounted on opposite sides of said base. f

4. A scanning type electron microscope comprising means for forming an undeviating electron'beam, an'object holder mounted for movement in the path of said beam, a pair of pressure responsive expansible-contractible Vmembers mounted on opposite sides of said object holder and coupled in drivingV relation therewith, and hydraulic means 'for concomitantly inversely varying the pressure applied to said expansiblecontractible members whereby to impart a reciprocating line-scanning movement to said object holder. i

JAMES HILHER. 

